NHTSA Stops Probes into Ford and Chrysler After Recalls

Two investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have been closed after the automakers repaired the vehicles under investigation. The agency was satisfied with Ford's recall of 200,000 vehicles to repair third-row seat latches in the 2004 to 2007 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans, and that Chrysler had fixed the affected Jeep Patriot and Compass vehicles.

This specific Ford issue has been under investigation since 2011, where the NHTSA received 80 reports of consumers having issues latching the third-row seats. The vehicles recalled were sold or registered in 20 "salt belt" states, where road salt is used more frequently and vehicle corrosion is more prevalent. States included Michigan, Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania, among others. For the 100,000 vehicles not recalled, the NHTSA will continue to monitor the complaints. No crashes or other injuries have been reported in relation to this recall.

The agency is also closing its investigation into more than 130,000 Chrysler vehicles. More than 20,000 2012 Jeep Patriot and Compass vehicles were recalled back in April over a fuel problem that resulted in engine stalls, sometimes with drivers unable to restart the vehicle. Chrysler believes the cause of this issue was because of the side saddle fuel tanks that experienced low siphon rates thanks to malformed tubes. Almost all complaints involved the Jeep Patriot 4X4. The complaint rate for this issue was 434 per 100,000 of recalled vehicles.